Waynesville & Sylva, NC

Historic Waynesville, North Carolina is the seat of Haywood County, located 30 minutes west of the dynamic town of Asheville, North Carolina. Just 17 miles away is Sylva, another historic mountain community in Jackson County. The two towns share contrasts and similarities: smaller Sylva's population is under 2,500 year-round residents, while Waynesville's full time population is around 10,000. Both townsare popular vacation spots, and populations soar as the mercury climbs. For individuals looking to retire or relocate to the Southeast, Waynesville and Sylva offer history, beauty, small town charm, a mountain backdrop and plenty of activities.

More Waynesville & Sylva Information

Health Care

Two hospitals serve the residents of Sylva and Waynesville, and both are part of the MedWest Health System. The 170-bed MedWest-Haywood is in Clyde while the 86-bed MedWest Harris is in Sylva. The two hospitals, plus MedWest Swain, share the 230 physicians on the MedWest medical staff. MedWest Haywood provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient services, and also has an impressive 54,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Wellness Center. MedWest Harris is a short-term acute care facility. Along with general medical and emergency services the hospital has imaging, lab and wound care centers, as well as outpatient surgery and a transitional care unit. Other medical resources for residents of the area include: Mountain Regional Cancer Center; Smoky Mountain Center for Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services; a nd Sylva Dialysis Center.

Sports

There's no need to put aside any passion for sports when considering smaller retirement communities in western North Carolina like Sylva or Waynesville. Within a 30-mile radius are both spectator and participatory sports to keep you active and involved with your sport of choice.

Local residents enjoy watching the many collegiate sporting events at Western Carolina University, home of the Catamounts. As a member of the Southern Conference, WCU participates in NCAA Division I athletics. Besides football, basketball and baseball, other WCU sports include men's and women's golf, men's and women's track and field, and cross country running.

On the professional sports level, Asheville is home to minor league baseball's Asheville Tourists, a Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Each season their home games are played at historic McCormick Field.

Shopping

Both Waynesville and Sylva offer diverse shopping, with unique items and friendly shopkeepers along their picturesque and historic downtown thoroughfares. Visitors and residents can enjoy historic facades and broad tree-lined pedestrian thoroughfares with cafes and art galleries featuring exquisite regional mountain artists in almost every medium. Other retailers offer collectible antiques, unusual jewelry, mountain rustic furniture, memorable gifts and clothing boutiques. West Waynesville, once the industrial part of town, has undergone radical transformation. A large shopping center called Waynesville Commons now sits on the site of the old Dayco factory. In Sylva, from May to October, the Jackson County Farmers' Market takes place every Saturday at Bridge Park in the municipal parking lot downtown. The nearest malls with national retailers are found in Asheville, about 30 miles east, at the Asheville Mall and Biltmore Square Mall.

Getting There

By Air: The closest airport offering commercial air carrier service is Asheville Regional Airport, about 35 miles east on I-40 in Fletcher. AirTran, Continental, Delta, US Airways and United all offer direct flights to major cities daily, as well as connecting flights elsewhere through their regional hub airports. Asheville Regional Airport is also a general aviation facility, offering fuel and tie-down service in addition to other amenities. A closer general aviation facility is in Sylva at the Jackson County Airport.

By Car: Sylva and Waynesville are easily accessible by automobile. Interstate 40 is the closest major highway, but US-19, US-23, US-64, US-74, US-441, and state roads 107 and 215 will also get you there. For the most scenic approach, try the Blue Ridge Parkway, which has an exit to Sylva.

Higher Education

Residents of Sylva and Waynesville can attend Southwestern Community College in Sylva, which offers degrees, diplomas and certificates in such fields as health services and computer technology. SWC ranked fourth in the nation in a 2007 Washington Monthly listing of America's best community colleges.

Haywood Community College in Clyde, just five miles east of Waynesville, offers two degrees not offered anywhere else in the state - associate degrees in Wildlife Management and Low Impact Development. In addition, its Professional Crafts programs - which include clay, fiber, jewelry, and wood - are the only ones in the nation that provide both hands-on craft curriculum and the training to aid students in successfully starting their own business.

In Cullowhee, seven miles south of Sylva, is Western Carolina University, which serves more than 9,500 full time undergraduate and post-graduate students. Its academic structure is composed of five undergraduate colleges, the Kimmel School, the Honors College and Graduate School. U.S. News & World Report ranked WCU 10th among public universities in the South that offer master's degrees in its 2010 "America's Best Colleges" list. The school is part of the well-regarded University of North Carolina system.

Golf

Sylva, Waynesville, and surrounding areas offer a respectable collection of golf courses. While some are private - including the 18-hole Arnold Palmer course that's part of Balsam Mountain Preserve residential community near Sylva - others have at least one public use course.

The Waynesville Inn Golf Resort & Spa has courses open to both year-round and seasonal residents. The 27 holes layout recently received a 4-star rating from Golf Digest.

The Laurel Ridge Country Club, also in Waynesville, features tree-line fairways with mountain views and streams.

Nearby Cashiers is home to High Hampton Inn and Country Club. It plays at 6,012 yards from the back tees to bent grass greens.

Just east of Cashiers is Sapphire Mountain Golf Club, which features a set of five par-3 holes, four of which play over water.

Just outside Cherokee is Sequoyah National Golf Club, designed by renowned course architect Robert Trent Jones and developed by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians.

Maggie Valley Club in Maggie Valley features two distinct nines - the Valley & and the Mountain Nine for its 6,500-yard layout.

Arts & Entertainment

Both Sylva and Waynesville strongly encourage and promote the local arts.

Catch the Spirit of Appalachia is a grass-root, non-profit group in Sylva promoting music and storytelling throughout the community via youth talent shows, workshops, residencies, community festivals and community plays.

The Waynesville Public Art Commission was created by the town commission in 2006 "to engage the community and enrich public places through original art."

The Downtown Sylva Association coordinates and promotes the Sylva After Dark arts program for local businesses. Music and gallery openings are featured during the evening hours.

The Waynesville Gallery Association offers something similar through their Art After Dark walking tours, festivals and events.

Gallery 1, in downtown Sylva, is operated by the Jackson County Visual Arts Association to showcase the work of Jackson County area visual artists.

For performing arts, Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville produces a year-round schedule of plays and musicals, attracting guest artists from New York, and actors from all over Western North Carolina. Its home is the Performing Arts Center at the Shelton House, but main stage performances are in the James Auditorium from April through November. In the winter, productions shift to the 75-seat Feichter Studio Theatre.

Western Carolina University also has its own Fine and Performing Arts Center. Each season includes musical, dance and theatre productions. The Fine Arts Center features the works of regional artists in both fine art and crafts.

For music lovers, the Haywood Arts Council hosts a number of events at the Performing Arts Center in Waynesville at the Haywood Community College Auditorium, including a series of Sunday concerts and piano concerts feature international and regional musicians.

The Western Community Chorus, comprised of singers from across the region, performs in Haywood, Jackson and the surrounding counties.

Students from Western Carolina University and residents from surrounding counties make up the Western Carolina Civic Orchestra. The spring and fall concerts are held at the recital hall at Western Carolina University.

Events

Sylva and Waynesville host a number of festivals throughout the year, but none are more the epitome of small-town America than their 4th of July and Christmas celebrations featuring a delightful array of nostalgic holiday traditions.

Sylva may be small in population, but it's big on special events. Its Greening Up the Mountain, for example, is a street fest to celebrate the arrival of spring each April, which includes a 5K run/walk. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Concerts on the Creek take place at Bridge Park and feature free concerts. Also starting in May and running through December is Sylva After Dark, when downtown merchants open their doors for an evening of dining, arts and shopping.

Waynesville starts its events calendar with the annual Fire & Ice Mountain Winterfest in January featuring ice carving contests, chef demonstrations, fashion shows, and Segway tours. All events take place at the Waynesville Inn. The Waynesville Inn also hosts Quick Draw in April, where artists must create a piece in one hour, spectators watch the ongoing process, and then bid on the art at the conclusion. Waynesville hosts Art After Dark on the first Friday of each month from May to December where galleries stay open welcoming visitors with live music and light refreshments. In June, the Appalachian Lifestyle Celebration is a full day of traditional mountain craft, food, and entertainment.

In July, Waynesville gears up for its part in Folkmoot USA, a two-week celebration of the world's music and dance cultural heritage. The Folkmoot Festival features public performances at venues throughout Western North Carolina.

Come September, more than 200 musicians and performers descend on Waynesville for the two-night Smoky Mountain Folk Festival, the longest running event of its kind in the South.

No sooner have the fiddlers and square dancers left, it's time for the annual Apple Harvest Festival in October when Main Street of Waynesville becomes center stage for live mountain music and dance, arts and crafts booths, plus apples, cider, fresh fried pies and other apple delicacies.

Attractions

Both Sylva and Waynesville are attractions unto themselves, because each has a number of historic sites. One of the more popular places to visit is The Shelton House in Waynesville, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1875, the farmhouse is filled with crafts, porcelain sculptures, hand woven quilts, and baskets, pottery, furniture from years gone by, as well as displays of Native American heritage. Also located in The Shelton House is The Museum of North Carolina Handicrafts featuring a fine collection of pottery, quilts, baskets and woodworking.

Downtown Sylva is home to Heinzelmannchen Brewery, which is open for tours and tastings. With tongue in cheek, it calls itself a "gnometown" brewery - a reference to the legendary gnomes of the Black Forest of Germany.

West of Waynesville and Sylva is the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Downtown Cherokee is a bit on the commercial side but Cherokee produces a worthwhile outdoor drama portraying the native history version of the Cherokee Nation. There are also tours of the museum, grist mill and Oconaluftee Indian Village and many festivals are held throughout the year.

Also to the west, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad begins its daily 53-mile trip in Bryson City. A scenic half-day trip takes you through a number of valleys and gorges of the Great Smoky Mountains.

A lesson on mountain life is depicted at the Mountain Heritage Center. Located on the campus of Western Carolina University, the collection includes more than 10,000 artifacts.

Just a few miles north of Waynesville are the Lake Junaluska Heritage Museum and the World Methodism Museum at the Lake Junaluska Assembly.

Parks & Recreation

One of the most popular reasons people choose to relocate here, besides the weather, is the abundance of top-notch outdoor recreation available within a relatively compact area. Hiking, fishing, biking, rafting and bird watching are among the many recreational choices available in this area.

Sylva owns a pristine tract of land, Pinnacle Park, which boasts hiking trails, waterfalls, and a town view from 5,000 feet.

In Waynesville, the Recreation Center has indoor activities such as a track, swimming pool, gymnasium, weight and exercise rooms and more.

On Boundary Street in Waynesville is a free indoor walking area within a gymnasium.

The 5-mile Waynesville Greenway begins near Lake Junaluska and ends at the Waynesville Recreation Center. The trail is ADA compliant, made of rock dust, gravel, and asphalt, and offers mountain views, plants, and trees native to this area.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a popular recreation destination providing over 800 miles of trails within its 520,000 acres. The park offers plant and wildlife viewing, fishing in 700 miles of streams, and horseback riding and biking. Along the way you can enjoy the many historic buildings including churches, barns, homes and schools.

About 15 miles southwest of Sylva is the Highlands District of the 516,000-acre Nantahala National Forest. Its 39,000 acres may be only a small portion but it offers much of what's available throughout the Nantahala National Forest and offers excellent hiking and many granite waterfalls along the trails.

Whitewater rafting is popular along the nearby Tuckasegee, Chattooga, Oconaluftee and Nantahala rivers for those who crave a bit of adventure. With the exception of the Chattooga, these rivers are also accessible for canoeing or kayaking. The Tuskasegee, the largest body of water in Jackson County, also provides the best trout fishing in the region.

If you prefer to pedal rather than paddle, a scenic bike trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway, which surrounds Haywood County, is recommended. By vehicle, you can travel the entire 469 miles of road, which connects the Great Smoky Mountains to the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Head southeast for about 30 miles to DuPont State Forest where you can view a number of waterfalls in one day.

In the winter months, Sapphire Valley Ski Area, south of Sylva, has two ski runs and fun snow tubing. Cataloochee Ski Resort has 14 ski slopes and trails ranging from beginner to expert. It is typically the first ski resort on the East Coast to open because of its high tech snowmaking equipment.

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